


No Going Back

by Choco_baby_bro



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Friendship, High School, Pre-Canon, Prompto Argentum is a Ray of Sunshine, Protective Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:40:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27332806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choco_baby_bro/pseuds/Choco_baby_bro
Summary: A little twist on how Prompto ends up more involved with his Highness and the others. This is real self indulgent, don't mind me ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	1. Part 1

_This is it. Today's the day._

For Prompto, today was day for a lot of things. Today was the day that he and his best friend Noctis had a math test - which he certainly failed - and today was also the day that those super fluffy biscuits were served for breakfast, the ones that the prince didn't like. In that case, he always gave them to him.

"Ugh." He and Noctis were walking their usual route, toward the fancy looking car that the prince always took home. "I just forgot I have training with Gladio today." The two of them stopped walking, and exchanged a glance.

"You mean, like.. with your shield? Does that mean we're not playing King's Knight today?" The blonde lowered his school bag from where it was slung over his shoulder and rubbed the back of his head. "If you've gotta go, I don't wanna keep you, ya know?"

As the prince's best friend, it was a very kind gesture. Prompto was always just a little timid, and extremely considerate of him, especially if it was regarding Noctis' royal duties. The difference here was, getting his ass handed to him for two hours wasn't his idea of a fun evening.

"Come on." Noctis spun on his heel, walking in the opposite direction they'd been going.

"Uh- dude? doesn't glasses guy always park-"

"It's fine."

So, a detour was in order. Evading Ignis was one of the prince's many skills, and it was nothing to scoff at. When Noctis didn't wanna be found, he was impossible to find.

Ignis always chose to pick him up at the front of the school, or the back under certain circumstances. However, on days like this, Noctis chose to sneak through the trees that were nearby. It wasn't the cleanest route, but it was an efficient means of escape.

Being the prince didn't leave much room for free time. The point of going to a normal public school like everyone else was so that he could feel like he wasn't _just_ the prince of Lucis. He wanted friends, and he wanted to be able to be live his life the way he wanted to, before his royal duties took over. He was lucky enough to have Prompto. He was the only one who hadn't been afraid to approach him. Unlike the other students, Prompto didn't seem to care that he was royalty. They both needed a friend, and found on in each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"Something the matter Noct?"_

_Parked outside of the local elementary school was Ignis, waiting patiently for the prince. Noctis was never late to the car. He was always there, waiting to be picked up at the end of the day. The difference today, was that he hesitated. He took an extra minute or two._

_"...No, it's nothin."_

_It wasn't that he had a stalker or anything. Well, he did, but not a very skilled one. It was a blonde boy, one he recognized from his class. This boy never spoke to anyone, and was always carrying around a little red camera. Noctis never spoke to him either, but Noctis hardly spoke to anyone. The other kids didn't care so much about him as they did his servants of privileges as the prince. That's why this kid stood out._

_One thing he noticed was how bad the poor guy was at hiding. He always hid in plain sight, and Noctis had to pretend he didn't notice. After all, he really didn't think anyone as shy as that would be plotting anything bad._

_It continued on for quite some time. It was only after about a week that the boy chose to approach him._

_Noctis was standing outside, by himself as he usually tended to be. Recess wasn't particularly fun for him, because it was then that all the other kids would flock to him, asking questions that he didn't have any answers to. He spent his free time behind the school, where he could nap or just have some peace and quiet._

_"U-Uhm, excuse me..! Prince..!"_

_When he raised his eyes, Noctis could see his blonde classmate walking over to him. It was considered pretty rude to call him just 'Prince' instead of 'Prince Noctis', but that stood out to him. He was sure this kid didn't know any better, but it wasn't like he cared much about an informal address._

_"P-Prince! I was just- wondering if maybe-_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"-YOU'D LIKE TO LIVE BECAUSE I DO?!"

Noctis blinked several times, jarred from his thoughts by Prompto, who was aggressively shaking him by the shoulders. "What??"

"Knife!"

Just as soon as the word reached his ears, something sharp flew between them, and Noctis' breath hitched.

_An assassination attempt? But Prompto's here. Guess a criminal wouldn't care all that much.._

It was one thing to have people make attempts on his life all the time, but he didn't want for anyone to get hurt because of him, especially if it was someone he cared about. 

Without thinking much of it, Noctis grabbed a hold of Prompto's wrist and started running.

Their day was supposed to be awful and boring turned fun by arcade games and pizza. But, apparently some people had nothing better to do aside from jumping a couple of teenagers in broad daylight.

If there was anything good about this situation, it was that an attempt as sloppy as this one was absolutely certain to fail. "Sorry in advance, things are probably gonna get rough. Just stay close and don't get caught."

"Really?? That's it?? 'stay close' because I'll die if I don't?! This isn't some scary videogame, how are you not freaking out?!" As much as Prompto could spend days complaining, he knew the gravity that came with the warning. The both of them could seriously be killed, and for nothing. He knew that Noctis was a prince, and with that came some unpleasant experiences. 

He knew they went a different way in the first place so that Noct could get out of his daily training. He could fend for himself if he needed to, but it wasn't like the royal guards could follow him around school or anything. So, at school, he was pretty vulnerable, which wasn't good. He wanted to help somehow, but what could he do? He had some muscle, and he wasn't out of shape, but Prompto's never had any reason to fight anybody. It was usually Noctis who tried to get involved in situations like that, and he had to be the peace keeper and remind his friend that he couldn't go beating up bullies even if they deserved it. 

"Noct, h-hang on," Prompto planted one of his feet down, effectively jerking them to a stop. It earned him an incredulous look from his friend, but he knew it was only because he was worried. They were only running because Noctis thought it was best for _him._ He was trying to keep Prompto out of harm's way.

"If you go, I can, maybe keep them busy-"

"You're joking right? Prom, an assassin is trying to kill us."

"They're trying to kill you, actually. If you die then Lucis won't have a prince, and then you're dad - his Majesty - won't have an heir and if the Empire decides to do something the country will be screwed-"

"Prompto, listen." An uncomfortable silence stretched between them, the sense of urgency temporarily forgotten. "I know I'm important. I also know that, this isn't the time for this. We talked about this already. You're not my Shield, you're not my guard or whatever. You're my friend. I'm not the kind of prince that wants everyone around me to be a living sacrifice whenever things go to shit. I wanna be the kind of prince that protects people. So take all that 'self sacrifice' talk and swallow it back down, or I'll make you suffer next time we play King's Knight."

That. Well. What could he say to that? He didn't agree, he wasn't trying to be self sacrificial, it wasn't like he _wanted_ to die, he was just trying to think of the best course of action. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get anything out, Noctis cut him off once again.

"By the authority of the prince of Lucis, I hereby decree that Prompto Chocobutt Argentum is forbidden from thinking or speaking of sacrificial things to the prince's face or to himself or to his conscience."

"...My hair does not look like a chocobo butt."

"Kweh Kweh."

With a roll of his eyes, Prompto elbowed him, then started shoving him along. "Fine, you win, but go. We were running, remember? Someone's trying to kill you."

"Yeah yeah, come on, I'm gonna call Ignis and tell him what's happening."

"Shouldn't you have done that first?? Wasn't he here to pick you up anyway? What if they captured him or something?! Wait, don't call him, they'll use him as bait-"

"Ignis is a force of nature. Don't let the glasses fool you." They continued along, shortly making it out of the trees. They climbed over a picket fence, then Noctis dug in his pocket for his phone, pulling it out and immediately dialing Ignis.

The advisor picked up after the first ring. " _Your Highness, where are you?_ "

Noctis winced lightly, taking mental note of Ignis' tone. Right, he was definitely mad. Exasperated at the very least. "My watch is red." After a brief pause, Ignis spoke again, his voice hushed despite being over the phone.

_"I'm tracking you're current position and notifying the authorities. Get someplace secure. I'll be there in five minutes."_

Without any further discussion, the call ended. Noctis didn't actually wear a watch, and he certainly wouldn't wear one if it weren't black. Typically, Ignis was his watch, so it wasn't one of his necessities. That being said, a 'red watch' was a code for 'assassin.' Soon enough, someone would be there to extract them. They were out in the open. If the media chose to show up, that'd open up a whole new bucket of bad things to deal with. 

Prompto was quiet, albeit fidgety. It was impressive he wasn't screaming or crying, and that he hadn't left. He could now, if he wanted. Noctis began crossing the street, and the blonde immediately followed him. "What'd Iggy say?" It wasn't hard to miss the wobble in his voice, but for his sake, Noctis pretended not to notice.

"We just have to get somewhere secure, then he'll come get us. The Crownsguard will investigate the area and make sure it's safe for us to go to school tomorrow."

Probably wishful thinking. The fact that they were attacked at school means that whoever was behind this knows that Noctis is a student there, Now they also know that Prompto is friends with him. He could brush it off as much as he liked, but this was going to be something to bring up with his father. It wouldn't be any trouble for the king to pull him out of school and have Ignis teach him everything. He wouldn't be able to see Prompto anymore, and he probably wouldn't be let out of the Citadel until further notice. 

He knew it was for his safety, but he hated feeling caged in like that. He knew they would force Prompto to leave, since they'd be on lockdown upon returning to the palace. He wouldn't even be able to leave his room without guards on him. It was going to be hell until they caught whoever was after them.

Noctis walked toward a library he spotted nearby, promptly texting Ignis to let him know they'd be waiting there. Now that it was being taken care of, he didn't feel as panicked as he had initially. They were going to be fine in a few minutes. The library was quiet, save for the few small gasps and murmuring he heard when he walked inside. He was the prince after all. 

"We can just sit in the back on the first floor. We'll be able to see when Ignis pulls up." He took a brief look around, taking a glance over his shoulder and coming to an abrupt halt. 

"..Is he okay?"

"He's here by himself, where are his guards?"

"I mean, maybe we could talk to him a little.."

The civilians within the library were harmless, and unaware. To them, it was just any other day, and their prince made a rare appearance. To them, nothing was wrong. It could have been the perfect day, just the prince visiting the library with his best friend. However, there was only one thing wrong with that idea.

_Prompto was gone._


	2. Part 2

It's okay. I'm okay. Sort of. Not really? This is terrifying.

One second Prompto had been on his way to the library with his best friend, and the next he was being shoved into the back seat of a black van, not even blindfolded, who does that?? Not to be critical of his kidnappers, but everything was a hundred times more scary if he could see his death coming. He'd much rather be blindfolded. 

At least that way he could let his imagination run wild instead of facing reality head on. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with the amount of anxiety that came with sitting in a car with four mean looking dudes that probably grabbed him in order to get to Noct. He was just a bargaining chip. That was bad. He was a tough guy, he could handle this.

It'd be easier to convince himself of that if he weren't crying.

"Don't get so upset blondie. As long as you tell us what we wanna know, you won't get hurt."

He put on his best glare, raising his eyes from his lap to look at the man in the passenger seat. As long as he did ask they asked? In other words, he was definitely gonna get hurt. The last thing he wanted to do was make trouble for his friend by selling him out. Maybe he could stall for a while by being difficult for them.

Prompto decided not to say anything, and the other three merely laughed. They didn't find him threatening in the slightest. 

I hate this..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what seemed like an eternity, the van came to a stop, and Prompto managed a peek out the front window. They arrived to what looked like some old and run down house. The kind of place where nasty monsters and zombies crawled out of in videogames.

A lump formed in the back of his throat as he was roughly dragged out of the van. There was a chill in the air, or at least it felt like it. There was the possibility that he was just imagining it, in the face of his impending doom.

"Let's go you three. We don't have all day. This kid's not royalty, so no one's gonna come for him unless we contact them first. Though, I'm sur his Highness is missing his little buddy right about now. Ain't that right blondie?" The man holding him chuckled, and the sound sent a shiver up his spine, but against his better judgement, he answered.

"Y..You're wrong, actually. Prince Noctis and I aren't friends." His voice was small, hardly a whisper, and it was pretty obvious his protest went ignored.

Think Prompto, you can handle this. Just, come up with something on the fly. It's not that hard, talking's my specialty.

"As a matter of fact," He winced lightly as the front door of the house creaked open, what an awful sound it was. "People like me are put in place to look that way, in the event that something like this would happen." It sounded believable enough, right? Noctis didn't really talk about his dad a whole lot, but maybe if he was at least a little bit mean, he'd do something like that-

"Let's see.. Prompto Argentum, third year student, there's a little stamp on this, that's what they give you when you're cleared to hang with the prince, isn't it?"

The apparent leader of the group lead them all into the building, casually pulling something from his pocket, and fiddling with it the further they walked through the house. It was difficult to see, but soon enough Prompto determined that it was a knife. That wasn't good.

"Nice try kiddo. We aren't idiots." The leader held up a small card, Prompto's student I.D. The sight of it made his blood run cold. He couldn't not carry that on him. If he didn't he'd have trouble at school, he wouldn't even be able to get through the front gate. Now it was proving to be a real pain in the ass.

"I mean you must be, trying to kill the prince in the middle of the day-" Before he could finish what he was saying, the man spun on his heel and slammed a hard fist into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

Prompto dropped to his knees, gasping for air and keeling over. He hadn't really been expecting that. Then again, he didn't know what else he could have expected. It made him dizzy, and he completely lost his balance. His stomach was toned enough, he shouldn't go down that easy. Black spots started dancing across his vision, and soon enough, everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ignis had arrived to the library in no time at all, since successful extraction of the prince was his one and only priority at the moment. He'd barely opened his own door when the passenger door swung open, and Noctis seated himself. "They took Prompto. We have to go get him."

"Pardon?" Ignis started driving, his brows knit together in slight confusion.

"Prompto! The assassin took him while my back was turned, and we have to go get him now! Who knows what they'll do to him?!"

"Who knows what they'll do to you if you were to go try and fail to retrieve him. We are returning to the Citadel, and we'll be on a full lockdown until His Majesty deems it safe to lift it."

"Ignis!" 

The advisor stole a glance to Noctis, his resolve hardly shaken despite the desperation being directed at him. He didn't respond, but returned his eyes to the road, letting out an exasperated sigh. While driving, he lowered a hand, pulling his phone from the pocket of his coat. He tapped the screen a few times, then raised it to his ear.

"..Gladio. His Highness and I are on our way back to the Citadel. He is secure. It would appear that the young man who usually spends time with him has been abducted-"

Ignis explained everything how it was, but he always did it with little to no sense of urgency. Under normal circumstances, Noctis wouldn't care, but his best friend's life was at risk.

He reached over, snatching the phone from Ignis and speaking in a hurry. "Gladio, I want you to find out where they went and find Prompto. He's blonde, about my height, he has freckles and blue eyes. Find him and bring him back with you."

"Noct, civilians are not permitted within the Citadel during lockdown."

"I'll take it up with my dad when he's safe with us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Tsk.. He's so damn difficult." As the Sworn Shield to the prince of Lucis, Gladio's duty was solely to Noctis. He didn't have any obligation to anyone but the prince. Yet here he was, on his way to pick up some other kid. King Regis was not gonna be happy about any of it.

"Amicitia, if you need to get back to the prince, we're fully capable of handling this. As the prince's shield, you shouldn't be stuck here with us."

Gladio was accompanying a group of Crownsguard, who were pursuing the would-be assassins on foot. They were doing their best to keep the situation away from the eyes of the media. "If I went back empty handed, His Highness would throw a tantrum." He didn't care to elaborate on just what that meant, but they'd find out in due time. His only task at the moment was to pick up the prince's little friend. "Don't worry about what I'm doing. I know you guys can handle this. I'm apparently just the only one the prince can trust with his precious cargo."

Thankfully, no one asked any further questions on the matter, but in the few seconds following the end of that conversation, the sound of gunshots rang through the air, immediately putting the entire guard on alert.

Damnit. They sound too far away. 

Gladio felt as though a stone sank to the pit of his stomach. They were still quite a distance away, and if they didn't hurry the hell up, he'd probably be too late. Saying he was worried about Prompto was a bit of a stretch. He'd heard about him before, but he's never actually seen or met the kid.

If Noctis sent his own Shield after him, that meant he was of extreme importance to Prince Charmless. It would be nothing short of devastating to him if Gladio were to return with nothing at all, or worse, a corpse.

"Forget stealth! We gotta get moving!" Then, they were running. Weapons were drawn, and now nothing was more important than getting to their destination.

By the time Gladio and the rest of the guard arrived to the warehouse, it seemed that things had already most certainly gone to shit.

There were already people outside - a few of the culprits without a doubt - but through his quick scan of the area, not a single person was blonde. It was possible that maybe his hair was dirty? So maybe he should be looking for a brown or grayish color?

The few men that had been outside were holding weapons, not unlike the entire guard. Of course, they were heavily outnumbered, but it didn't stop the group of dumbasses from putting up a fight. They were pretty weak, so The massive Shield didn't even bother summoning his great sword from the Armiger.

He just needed to find the blonde kid and get back to the castle.

Guess he's still in there then.

"Capture them all alive. You can probably go ahead and rough em up a little though." Without waiting for a response from the others, Gladio marched toward the front door to the house, followed by two of the Kingsglaive, Nyx Ulric and Libertus Ostium. He trusted the two of them the most of the Glaives.

Shouts were coming from the inside, sounding enraged. There were three different voices talking over one another, and a crash from inside as well.

Gladio reached out and grabbed the door handle, pulling it open, only to be met with a bundle of fear and anxiety crashing into him very ungracefully. Of course, The blonde was only about as tall as his shoulder, and he was practically a wall of muscle.

Prompto stumbled back, quickly looking up to meet the bright and intense amber eyes of the prince's Shield.

What the hell was he supposed to do? He'd been on the path to escape, and now this killing machine of a man was blocking his path. The other guys had guns and knives, sure, but this guy.

He could break me in half with his pinky toe.

There were already tears pooling in his eyes to begin with, but he went ahead and let them spill. He'd been lucky enough to keep it together up to this point. Despite himself, Prompto hardened his terrified gaze into a glare. He wasn't sure just yet whether Gladio and the others were there to hurt him or not. "Y..You're gonna let me go- I mean, like now, get outta the way." Like hell was he gonna let some big buff dude just take him out.

"That's cute blondie." Prompto probably shouldn't have just stood there, if he intended to escape. However, since that's what he did, the scary buff dude plucked him from the ground and tossed him right over his shoulder, earning an indignant squawk.

"H-Hey! Let me go! I promise I don't taste good-"

The Shield said nothing, simply turning and carrying the loud blonde back with him, away from any danger. From what Gladio could see, the guy was a little roughed up but nothing worth much concern. It could have been way worse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Noctis and Ignis were waiting, they'd been ultimately confined in a store room just down the hall from the prince's bedroom. It was important that the royal family be kept separate and in secure but not obvious places during a lockdown, in case of any further attacks.

"Ignis, what if he's dead?? It'd be all my fault, we were just hanging out, and we were gonna go to the arcade because I'm an idiot who hates training so I put him in danger-"

"Your Highness. I will say that your actions were ill advised, but you are hardly to blame for what has occurred. I'm sure your companion was well aware of this possibility before agreeing to befriend you." Ignis was seated in a chair, leg crossed as he watched his charge pace the room. "You mustn't panic."

"But Ig-"

Just then, a shrill scream was heard outside, and the shuffling of the guards inside and outside the door moved into defensive positions.

It was Prompto's voice. That much, Noctis was sure of. His friend was alive, but something bad was happening. Without hesitation, he stepped toward the door, only to be stopped by his advisor's hand on his shoulder and the guards shifting to effectively prevent him from exiting.

"Let go of me."

"Might I remind you that you are the Crown Prince. It is dangerous for you to go out there."

Rather than their argument continuing, the door momentarily swung open, and a twig of a blonde was unceremoniously tossed inside, followed by the familiar face of the Prince's Shield.

"..Prompto!"

"Noct?!"

"Gladio."

"And, I am Ignis. Glad that we have all been properly introduced."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy, so I'm sorry this took me so long- I won't lie, I did kinda rush through the latter half of this, so forgive me, I just wanted to get it out T-T Forgiveth me please, I'm working on a lot at the moment, but I'll hopefully get back in the swing of things soon! Until next time!


End file.
